American Idol is back for a 12th season of Fox…and it looks like the feud between judging divas Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj did little to help the aging talent show get off to a running start.

The new panel of Nicki, Mariah, Keith Urban and returning judge Randy Jackson delivered plenty of “Oh My God” moments that often overshadowed the contestants themselves. The obvious tension between Mariah and Nicki bubbled over when the Queens femcee called Mariah a “bitch” not once, but three times.

It was like watching two teenage sisters forced to share a bedroom.

Though there was no shortage of bickering and eye-rolling between the pair, Idol’s audience is down 19 % from January 2012, according to preliminary figures from Nielsen.

Written by Castina on January 17th, 2013 | Tagged as: American Idol,TV,TV News